Pastor Bill retires from West Chester's Calvary Lutheran

One of the first things people notice after their introduction to the Rev. William “Bill” McGowan is his uncanny ability to remember their names. He makes it a habit to remember, and rarely does he ever forget.

Whenever he offers communion to Calvary Lutheran Church’s congregation on Sunday mornings, he blesses each person by name as they come forward.

“He truly is a shepherd who knows his sheep by name,” said the Rev. Daniel Krewson, Calvary’s senior pastor. “It’s been so important to Calvary that he knows people personally.”

Advertisement

Whether he is leading his weekly Power Hour Bible study, working with the West Chester Religious Council, ministering to the students of West Chester University, leading mission trips with Calvary’s teens, training leaders in Calvary via the Stephen Ministry program, or helping to launch Safe Harbor’s ministry to the homeless single women of Chester County, McGowan makes it a habit to build connections with all the people with whom he comes into contact.

“We are called to make a difference in the broader community,” McGowan said. “I want to help people, help bring peace and be a helper in the community.”

And McGowan has done just that during his 17 years in West Chester as Calvary’s associate pastor.

The month of June marked a series of three farewell events for McGowan, which culminated in a dinner reception at West Chester University. On June 30, Calvary and the West Chester community bid McGowan a final farewell as he spent his last Sunday in Pennsylvania before moving to Brigantine, N.J., with his wife, Joan, for “semi-retirement.”

After meeting with the Lutheran bishop in N.J., McGowan expressed his desire to still serve the church as a minister in a part-time capacity wherever he is needed. “I’ll never leave the ministry,” McGowan said.

McGowan was born the second oldest of five children in northeast Philadelphia in 1951 to an Irish Roman Catholic family. He graduated from LaSalle High School in 1968, and from there he attended St. Charles Seminary in Overbrook, where he was ordained as a priest in 1976.

After spending 17 years as a priest, McGowan’s beliefs slightly shifted and he “learned to speak Lutheran” before he serving for 17 more years as Calvary’s associate pastor.

“Living as a priest, I always believed in God’s goodness, love, kindness and mercy, and I would always try to see the positive side of things, to open doors, and give second chances,” McGowan said. “Laws can separate some people from God--not bring them to him. Jesus reached across the barriers of the law through love and forgiveness. I believe that we should not let laws separate us from reaching out.”

“Bill is so friendly, welcoming and outgoing,” Krewson said, “and he was a spiritual guide who has also been a true friend to me. He celebrated with me in the birth of my daughter, Sophie. I was there for his first wife’s death, and I later married him and Joan. He was there with me in the darkest parts of life, and he celebrated with me in the highest joys.”

And McGowan has done the same for the rest of his beloved congregation.

When Faith Ann Vining underwent open heart surgery in 2009, a few years after her heart attack, her husband, Scott, and their kids heard nothing for 10 hours as they kept vigil in hospital. Scott remembers watching the screen in the waiting room filling with the names of patients as they came in for surgery and left afterwards. “After the 10 hours had passed, all the names had disappeared except my wife’s,” Scott said. “My kids and I went through a lot that day.”

Although Faith Ann’s surgery happened during the same time that McGowan’s own wife was diagnosed with cancer, he was still there for the Vinings.

“No matter how busy he is or what problems he has, he still cares about our problems,” Faith said. “Before my surgery, I had called Bill and told him that I needed him to be there for Scott and the kids, and he said, ‘I’ll be there.’ And he was. That’s the way he is.”

“A pastor is invited to walk on the holy ground of people’s lives,” McGowan said. “A pastor is there in joy, sadness, crises, and confusion. He is invited to share those experiences with people, and this is the special joy of being a pastor.”

Throughout his years of service at Calvary, McGowan has continued to build connections throughout the community. Krewson has always marveled at McGowan’s knack for bringing different people and denominations together and facilitating their working partnerships.

“He enables others to serve,” Krewson said. “He connects with people naturally. He shares who he is so people feel comfortable sharing who they are. While he always finds connections, he still acknowledges that their lives are different. What separates us is not our differences, but our judgments of our differences. He’s always been one to honor people’s pasts and what they bring with them as they find common ground together.”

“Once Bill is your friend, he’s your friend for life,” Scott said. “It’s hard to find a good friend. Don’t lose them. We were very blessed to have the time with him we did have.”

It will be bitterweet for Calvary now that McGowan has departured. “We, too, must honor the past but do something new together,” Krewson said.